Amazon Echo

[NikNak]

Hi all.... does anyone have one of these fangled Amazon Echo's..?

Was asked the other day what i'd like for xmas.... ummmmm :-k :-k dont really 'want' anything :|

Then a few days later..... :idea: 'she' mentions that maybe a new radio for the kitchen would be nice, with push button channel change... :-k

So i look around.... and come across these clever things that answer your requests http://www.johnlewis.com/amazon-ech...ice-recognition-control/p3025565?colour=Black

Went to 2 Currys this afternoon and got TOTALLY conflicting answers :shock:

First store just round the road... guy says yeah you can use it on its on but not much fun without an Amazon Prime account linked to it. The one on display was set up as a demo only i.e. it responded to the demo only, and they didnt have one in white so we could compare the two side by side.

Store two a few miles away, also had exactly the same set up, and also none in white. However this guy said it totally wouldnt work without the use of ANY subscription based apps e.g. Prime Music, Spotify, Uber, Just Eat etc. He said it even needed a subscription app to even tell you the time, weather... anything..!! He said all it was was a speaker that connected to your subscription apps :shock:

Me thinks he was talking a load of tosh :---) and didnt have a scooby doo.... :tool:

I've done some googling on it and watched a few reviews etc, but nothing really beats a first hand report from someone who's actually got the beast..... so.... is there anyone on this amazing forum who can actually tell me first hand what its like.? does it respond ok.? how many times have you thought pffff useless piece of marmalade :evil:

I see that Google have their own version, but not in this country 'yet'.... if it were available its maybe a slightly better item (they both have differing strengths and weaknesses...)

We're looking at a DAB radio at roughly the same cost, and i'm just thinking if this plays radio AND tells you tomorrows weather, Delia's recipe for lemon drizzle cake AS WELL.... well then, no contest surely..? =D> =D>


As always.... cheers in advance


Nick

 

[RobinBHM]

I know nothing about the amazon thingie, however I have heard DAB radio reception is so poor in some areas its not worth having.

 

[AJB Temple]

We are right at the beginning of reliable voice activated technology for home entertainment and it is still rudimentary right now. Amazon Echo is very focussed on their Prime media platform. If you think of a smart phone, eg an iPhone with Siri, this will give you an idea of the experience you may get. I would hold off for at least a year or two before spending money on this kind of technology.

 

[skipdiver]

I know nothing about the amazon thingie, however I have heard DAB radio reception is so poor in some areas its not worth having.

As i've found to my cost. Bought a quite expensive Pure radio for my workshop and spend most of my time trying to get it tuned in. My next purchase will be in internet radio when i can get an internet connection to my workshop. Will then have access to all the stations i could ever want or need.

The Echo looks a bit gimmicky to me.

 

[petermillard]

I have a couple of the Echo 'Dots' - basically an Echo without the bigger speaker (have sonos in the house and plenty of Bluetooth speakers around, don't need any more!). I was moved enough to write a rare (for me) amazon review on it, I'll link it below, but the short answer is, if someone's buying it for you then it's a fun gadget to have, provided you have a Spotify subscription, an Amazon prime music subscription etc.. etc..

You can get radio on it via tune-in but every time I ask Alexa for bbc radio London I get bbc Asian network! Nothing against BBC AN, but not what I asked for! Oddly if I ask for 94.9FM, it plays just fine. It's slowly getting better - UK units didn't have ITTT at launch, now they do - but I only have 50/50 success controlling, say, my Hue 'smart' lights with it, and my wife has very little success with it; maybe the pitch or timbre of the voice?

Anyhoo, my 3-star "Fun but Flawed" amazon review is here, if you're interested:-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-re ... B01DFKBL68

Cheers, Pete

edited for clarity

 

[paulrockliffe]

I'd normally say don't bother with the Amazon thing, wait 12 months for Google to have a better version that's better hooked into all their other services which Amazon don't replicate.

However, if you put one in your workshop you can pair it up to WiFi sockets and tell it to turn your dust extractor on and off. You could also have it turn all your kit off if you shouted STOP!

 

[thetyreman]

I saw a review of it on the gadget show, not sure if I'd like it personally, the only reason why amazon can afford to take this risk is because it's doing well as a business, in a couple of years it might fail, I'm not sure if they genuinely care whether anyone likes it or not, but they certainly want your money, just like santa.

 

[skipdiver]

I see Amazon have done their first delivery by drone, so they are working toward less staff, bigger profits and world domination. :evil:

 

[Jasper42]

I know nothing about the amazon thingie, however I have heard DAB radio reception is so poor in some areas its not worth having.

As i've found to my cost. Bought a quite expensive Pure radio for my workshop and spend most of my time trying to get it tuned in. My next purchase will be in internet radio when i can get an internet connection to my workshop. Will then have access to all the stations i could ever want or need.

The Echo looks a bit gimmicky to me.

I did the same ended up making an outdoor antenna out of some bits of wire and opening up the radio to fit it. Works fine now

 

[Roughcut]

I see Amazon have done their first delivery by drone, so they are working toward less staff, bigger profits and world domination. :evil:

As an advertising gimmick Amazon have scored well with the drone deliveries.
In reality due to the current restrictions placed on how and where drones can be flown 99.99999% of the UK will NEVER receive a delivery in that manner.
It's a fantasy!

 

[RogerS]

I know nothing about the amazon thingie, however I have heard DAB radio reception is so poor in some areas its not worth having.

+1

Plus some LED lights can interfere with DAB reception.

Plus some radios eat batteries.

 

[RogerS]

I saw a review of it on the gadget show, not sure if I'd like it personally, the only reason why amazon can afford to take this risk is because it's doing well as a business, in a couple of years it might fail, I'm not sure if they genuinely care whether anyone likes it or not, but they certainly want your money, just like santa.

LOL...if it's on the Gadget Show then that surely must be a reason not to get one

 

[oakmitre]

I have an Echo Dot. It is basically the same as the Echo but much cheaper £45 at the moment, it was £40 on black friday (has a smaller poorer quality speaker). It has a line out / headphone socket which you can connect to any old Hifi, and that will give much better sound quality than the speaker of the full size Echo.

For radio, it uses the http://tunein.com/ service to stream - you just ask and it plays. If you are after a particular station(s) I will ask it if you like, to see if it works.

It can tell the weather for today, today or if you ask "what is the weather for the rest of the week", it will read out 7 days for the area you are in. You can of course add other regions to the end of that sentence.

What I find really useful are countdown timers. "Alexa - timer for 15 mins". "Alexa stop" to stop the alarm.You can have multiple timers running at once.

There is also an option for £3.99 / month to subscribe to Amazon music unlimited for that single device only. I have found some great music by it hearing me incorrectly and playing a different song.

If it cannot answer a question you ask, it sends a Bing search engine link to the app on your phone ( if you have it installed ).I do not like Bing.

It can read kindle books in your library, but I do not know a way of uploading your own text files so not that useful to me.

 

[DiscoStu]

I'm quite tempted by echo for the sole reason that we have an automated lighting system and it means when I go to bed I could just say Alexa turn out all the lights and she would. At the moment I have to use an app which isn't so nice when you're all snuggled up!

Essentially echo works by linking into lots of 3rd parties and I think because it's Amazon lots of 3rd parties are quickly enabling their systems to link with it. I am intending to see if they are doing a deal on them after Christmas.


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[RogerS]

And when all these marvellous IoT get hacked again and again to form part of a worldwide botnet creating havoc far and wide across the internet with DDoS attacks ?

What's wrong with getting out of bed and turning the light switch on manually ?

 

[MarkDennehy]

Amazon echo.
Because why wait for GCHQ to bug your house when you can pay a US company for a bug you install yourself!

 

[DiscoStu]

And when all these marvellous IoT get hacked again and again to form part of a worldwide botnet creating havoc far and wide across the internet with DDoS attacks ?

What's wrong with getting out of bed and turning the light switch on manually ?

I guess you still have a toilet in the garden and use candles for light? Our lighting system is great we have a control panel on the wall so when you walk in you select a mood so you can just have a few lamps on low or the whole room lit up etc.

Our Christmas tree is on it so as you walk in you hit the lights and the tree comes on - no need to fumble under it to switch it on. Our outside tree is on it so it comes on at dusk and off at 11.30.

I even have a theme called arrive home which puts on the hall lights and kitchen lights before we get in.

I like it and saves me stepping things in the dark etc.


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[RogerS]

And when all these marvellous IoT get hacked again and again to form part of a worldwide botnet creating havoc far and wide across the internet with DDoS attacks ?

What's wrong with getting out of bed and turning the light switch on manually ?

I guess you still have a toilet in the garden and use candles for light? .....
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Of course not, as well you know it. But if it was a toss-up between you and others being able to select a "mood to smooch by" as opposed to multiple DDoS attacks then I know where my priorities and responsibilities for the greater good lie.

 

[DiscoStu]

Ooh a "mood to smooch by" that sounds like a new mood I need to programme.

I'm not concerned about DDoS attacks. I've had my lighting system for about 5 years and not had a single incident where someone has taken control over the internet (except for me). I honestly think hackers have better things to do and the system work even without the Internet so I'm not too concerned.

It's good to be security aware but I honestly think home users have little to fear. You're biggest concern should be who holds your credit card details and even that is protected by the banks. It's a pain if you do suffer from theft and ID theft in particular but it can all be dealt with. Hackers really aren't interested in turning my lights on and off or changing the temperature of my thermostat. If they can break through firewalls then there are far more interesting things that they can do and look at.


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[Phil Pascoe]

"I even have a theme called arrive home which puts on the hall lights and kitchen lights before we get in."
I leave 11w of led lighting on.